Measuring apparatus



Dec. 17, 1946.

Filed May 27,

R. W YOUNG MEASURING APPARATUS 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A TTOPNEV Patented Dec. 17, 1946 l 2,412,665 MEASURING APPARATUS Roger W. Young, Jersey City, N. J., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 27, 1944, Serial No. 537,610

2 Claims.

This invention relates to measuring apparatus, and more particularly to an adjustable anvil for a device for measuring a linear dimension.

There has arisen recently a large scale demand, in the electrical arts, for slices of crystalline material, particularly quartz, of unusually accurate predetermined thickness and width. Such crystal slices are often made by sawing suitable pieces from massive crystal pieces which are subsequently reduced to the desired dimensions by grinding and lapping. It is then importantly necessary to be able to measure the dimensions of the crystal slices to a high degree of accuracy at intervals during the grinding or lapping as well as when these operations are finished, to determine not only the thickness or the width at any given point but also departures from parallelism of the two broad faces of the slice. There are highly satisfactory devices available in the commercial market for effecting such measurements in which a stationary anvil has opposed thereto a contact member, both adjustably and resiliently movable toward and from the anvil in a direction perpendicular to a surface thereon, together with means actuated by the movable member to indicate accurately on a suitably calibrated scale the distance between the anvilA and the movable member. One such device of a high degree of accuracy and reliability is disclosed and described in detail in U. S. Patent 2,244,964, granted June 10, 1941, to L. F. Poock et al. Such devices often include means, as disclosed in the patent cited, whereby the relation of the movable member to the indicating mechanism may be adjusted to correct for wear of the movable member in use, or other conditions which may require an alteration of the indication on the scale for a given position of the member relative to the anvil. In operation, the device may be checked for correctness of its calibration or adjusted to a desired dimension by placing on the anvil a standard block or ball or the like of accurate, known height and adjusting the member to give the required reading when in contact with the standard. In most instances the device is used as a gauge to detect and measure deviations from a standard dimension rather than to indicate the dimension in question directly. The device isadjusted to read zero on its scale at the standard dimension and to indicate over and under size in the pieces measured. In dealing with piezoelectric crystals, there may be a considerable number of standard dimensions in a sequence whose members are separated by very small steps. For instance, applicants assignee makes square slices of crystalline quartz of hundreds of predetermined distinct thicknesses within a total range of diiference from thickest to thinnest of less than one-tenth inch, and within a total range of difference of edge length (i. e. width across the square flat face of the slice) of about one-fifth inch, there are also hundreds of different predetermined dimensions. Evidently, to readjust to a gauge such as described each time a different one of these dimensions is to be gauged, when one instrument must serve several batches of work being carried on together, becomes an importantly time and labor consuming affair.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gauge such as described having as an additional feature `means whereby the anvil may be adjusted in a simple, reliable and accurate manner to give the distance between the anvil and the movable contact member desired predetermined values within a relatively large range in comparison to the minimum variation of the distance practically registerable by the scale and pointer.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention may be embodied in a precision gauging apparatus having a contact member resiliently displaceable in linear motion and means to adjust the normal position of the member over a narrow range along the line of motion thereof, anvil means comprising a xedly positioned base member having a relatively long screw threaded bore therein coaxial with theline of motion of the contact member, a shaft in the bore and having a relatively long threaded portion complementary to and engaged in and throughout substantially the whole of the threaded bore, and a contact face carried by the shaft and opposed to the contact member to eect gauging of an article inserted between the contact member and the contact face.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals are applied to identical parts in the several figures and in which.

Fig. 1 is a view in right side elevation, with par-ts broken away, of a gauge constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial, enlarged, front elevation as indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similarly enlarged plan view, with parts broken away, of the anvil; and

Fig. 4 is a corresponding section on the line 4-4 oi"l Fig. 3.

The invention as herein illustrated and described is embodied in an improved form of an apparatus generally shown in Fig. 1 and comprising a horizontal base I6 upon which is mounted a vertical pillar II having a rack I2 thereon. A housing or carriage I4 is arranged to be vertically slidable on the pillar and to be coarsely adjustably raised or lowered thereon by a pinion (not shown) within the housing engaging the rack I2 and actuable by a knurled Wheel I5. A vertically and resiliently movable contact plunger I6 protrudes vertically downwardly from the housing and is vertically finely adjustable in the housing by means of a nut I1 as well-as being `adjustable with the housing as a carriageby means of the wheel I5.. The housing is formed with a forwardly oriented hood I8 havingan opening I9 through which is visible from without `an arcuate scale 26 xedly positioned within the housing. There is mechanism within the housing (not shown or described here) by which motion of the'plunger I6 with respect to the housing I4 is translated into motion along the scale of a ray of light impinging on the scale, the mechanism being suciently sensitive and accurate to convert vertical motion of the plunger of the order of fty millionths of an inch into a corresponding visible displacement of the-spot of light of one division on the scale 2U. Directly under the plunger I6, the base I0 is formed with a horizontal slot 2|, of rectangular cross-section and opening from the top and front surfaces 0f the base, to receive an anvil as hereinafter described. Also anvil locking screws 22 are mounted in the. side walls of the slot 2| as shown. Furthermore, the floor of the slot 2| may have a relief groove 23 as shown. As thus far described, the apparatus is a commercial article and, as procurable in the market, is provided with an anvil to -it in the slot 2| which is simply a suitably shaped solid block of metal. The mechanism contained in the housing I4 and in the base I0 by which electric current is supplied through cables 6 and I-3 from the base to the housing from any suitable source (not shown) and by which the motion of the plunger I6 relative to the housing I4 is converted into motion of the-light spot over the scale 20, is not herein shown or described, being no part of the present invention and being fully disclosed and described in U. S. Patent 2,244,964, above further identified, to which reference may be had if desired.

According to the present invention, there ispositioned in the slot 2| and removably locked therein by the screws 22 an anvil block 24 whose horizontal upper surface rises triingly above the upper surface of the base IU to provide clearance above the base 'for members mounted on the block. Into the center of the block 24 is inset a vertical bushing 25 to rotatably journal a vertical shaft 26 in coaxial alignment with the plunger I 6. The lower portion `21 of the shaft 26 is formed as a journal member to t with freedom to rotate but without shake in the bushing 25. 'Ihe middle portion of the shaft is slightly enlarged and formed with a micrometer thread .26, and the lupper ,portion 29 'of the shaft is of less diameter than the threaded portion and is smoothly cylindrical. A large, flat, circular disk 30 is rigidly and horizontally secured on the upper face of the block 24 by screws 3| and is formed in its upper surface with a, coaxial cylindrical recess 32 -having a perforation 33 to allow the shaft 26 to pass through. A cylindrical -nut 34 split at 35 is threaded to match the thread 28 ofthe shaft`26,

is positioned thereon, and is clamped in place on the shaft by a screw 36. The nut 34 resting on the floor of the recess 32 supports the shaft 26, and is held down in the recess 32 by a laminar annulus 31 secured coaxially on the disk 30 by screws 3'8. The upper surface of the disk 30 is formed witha wide, shallow counterbore 39 so that the annulus 31 is supported only around its edge and the screws 38 can be tightened down to clamp the nut 34 immovably down on the floor of the recess 32. The shaft 26 is then rotatable in the nut'34 against a frictional resistance whose severity is adjustable by means of the screw 36.

A vcircular disk 40 is rigidly secured, horizontally, on :the upper portion 29 of the shaft 26, e. g. by being drive tted thereon, to be rotatable therewith. The periphery of this disk is provided with aplurality of angularly equally spaced, vertical, radial slots 4I cut equally deeply into the disk. On the upper surface of the disk just inside the inner ends of the slots 4I, is a circular scale 42. A turret-like anvil member proper 43 is secured in the center of the top face of the disk 4U by screws 44 and is formed with a central frusto-conical lboss 45 having a central vertical bore 46, coaxial with the shaft 26 and the plunger I6, in which an insert 41 of hard material, e. g. tungsten carbide, is held by a screw 48. The common upper surface of the boss 45 and insert 41 is ordinarily accurately plane and at right angles to the common axis of the plunger I6 and shaft 26, although the insert 41 may, if desired, protrude above the boss 45 and may be curved on its upper end, if desired.

At the front side of the disk 4I) and the front end of the block 24, is mounted a vertical post 56 secured to the disk 30 by screws 49. In the upper end of the post is a horizontal bushing 5I having a bayonet joint slot 52 in its side wall and held in the post by a screw 53. A detent 54 is slidable and rotatable in the bushing 5I and carries a pin 55 engaging in the slot 52 and an axial detent finger 56 to beengaged in or withdrawn from any one of the slots 4I when aligned therewith to hold the disk -40 against rotation whenv engaged in a slot 4I. Preferably, a housing 51 Vis suitably formed and secured in place -to prevent admission of dust, and this is provided with a glass closed window 58.

In one particular instance in practise, the screw 28 has a thread of lforty turns to the inch, the `scale 42 on the disk 40 has two hundred and fifty divisions in its complete circumference, and the fifty slots 4I and placed five units of the scale apart. Thus 'an advancing turn of the disk 46 from one slot 4I to the next represents and effects a rise of the upper end of the insert 41 of 0.0005 or one half thousandth of an inch.

Furthermore, the nut v34 engages all but four engaging the finger 56 in successive slots 4I of 'the disk, over atotal range of two hundred such steps, vor one tenth inch. The scale 20 of the original apparatus has a lrange each Way from its central, zero graduation mark of one thousandth inch of motion of the plunger |6 -and is graduated in twenty steps each way from zero lso that y-each graduation represents a motion of the plunger I6 of one half ten thousandth of an inch.

In operation, assuming that the cable 9 is connected to a suitable source of electric current and that the housing I4 is much too high on the pillar l l, let it be assumed that a lbatch or" crystal slices is to be gauged whose thickness is desired to be twenty-three thousandtlis inch with a tolerance of plus or minus four ten tho-usandths. Let it be further assumed that there is conveniently available a standard precision type gauge block whose thickness is seven hundredths inch. The nger 55 is retracted to leave the dial disk 40 free to rotate. The disk 4E is rotated by manipulation of the knurled turret i3 until the screw 2B stands midway of the nut 34 and the Zero of the scale l2 registers with the linger 56 which is then pushed forward into the corresponding slot 4| and locks the dial in this position. The

seven hundredths inch block is placed on the tcp surface of the boss 35; and the housing 4 is brought down by manipulation oi the wheel i5 until the tip of the plunger i6 just touches the block, and the indication of the light ray on the scale 28 is somewhere between the ends of the scale. This indication is then brought to the zero of the scale by manipulation of the nut I1. The gauge block is then drawn out from be tween the plunger i6 and the boss 15, leaving the distance between these members precisely seven hundredths or seventy thousandths oi an inch. This is greater than the desired twentye three thousandths by forty-seven thousandths. The finger 56 is retracted and the dial disk #il rotated counterclockwise as seen from above until ninety-four teeth have passed the nger 55 which is entered into the slot 4l :behind the ninety-fourth tooth. This rotation is represented as illustrated by four hundred and seventy graduations of the scale 42, or one full turn of the dial plus two hundred and twenty graduations. This rotation of the dial raises the shaft 26 and therewith the dial disk 423 and turret 43 by precisely ninety-four times one-half thousandth inch or forty-seven thousandths; and now the distance between the top of the boss [l5 and insert il below and the tip of the plunger Hi above is now precisely the desired twenty-three thousandths inch; and the device is ready for use in gauging the batch of slices by inserting these one at a time between the plunger and the boss. Since each division of the scale 2G represents half a ten thousandth inch displacement of the plunger I 6, the gauging is amply accurate for the four ten thousandths tolerance.

If the apparatus of the prior art with a simple, solid anvil be used, there must be available an extensive set of precision gauge blocks if the instrument is to be used for gauging a considerable number of dimensions. It will be a rare instance when a single such block will chance to be available of the exact dimension desired. In

d most cases two or more such blocks will have to be wrung together. And in a shop where the articles to be gauged are being made from hard material by grinding or lapping, the wringing together of precision blocks requires extreme care lest these be injured by traces of abrasive dust.

With the adjustable anvil of the invention, a single precision block will sufce for all settings of the apparatus exceeding or falling short of the dimension oi the block by an amount within the range of adjustment of the anvil, and wringing of blocks together is wholly unnecessary.

What is claimed is:

l. In a precision gauging apparatus having a contact member resiliently displaceable in linear motion and means to adjust the normal position of the member over a narrow range along the line of motion thereof, anvil means comprising a fixed base, a split clamp nut rigidly secured on the base and coaxial with the line of motion of the contact member, the pitch of the thread of the nut being less than the range of adjustment of the contact member, a correspondingly threaded shaft engaged in the nut, a clamping screw mounted in the nut to adjust the severity of the frictio-nal resistance thereof to rotation of the shaft therein, a dial rigidly secured on the shaft and formed with angularly equally spaced detent means thereon, a movable detent mounted on the base to be engaged with the detent means on the dial or disengaged therefrom at will, and a contact face carried by the shaft and opposed to the contact member to effect gauging of an article inserted between the contact member and the contact face.

2. In a precision gauging apparatus having a contact member resiliently displaceable in linear motion and means to adjust the normal position of the member over a narrow range along the line of motion thereof, anvil means comprising a fixed base, having a slot therein transverse to the line of motion of the contact member, a removable Ibase positioned in the slot, a split clamp nut rigidly secured on the removable base and coaxial with the line of motion of the contact member, the pitch of the thread of the nut being less than the range of adjustment of the contact member, a correspondingly threaded shaft engaged in the nut, a clamping screw mounted in the nut to adjust the severity of the frictional resistance thereof to rotation of the shaft therein, a dial rigidly secured on the shaft and formed with angularly equally spaced detent means thereon, a movable detent mounted on the removable base to be engaged with the detent means on the dial or disengaged therefrom at will, and a contact face carried by the shaft and opposed to the contact member to effect gauging of an article inserted between the contact mem- -ber and the contact face.

ROGER W. YOUNG, 

